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2012 State Legislative Elections
Table of Contents
Redistricting •Partisan Control •Primaries •Impact of Term Limits •Competitiveness Analysis
States
Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan•Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming
Other 2012 Election coverage
Primary elections •Statewide elections, 2012 •State legislative special elections, 2012 •State Senate elections •State House elections •State executive official elections, 2012 •2012 ballot measures

In the 50 states, there are99 state legislative chambers altogether, and86 of the 99 chambers held state legislative elections onNovember 6, 2012.

1,301 (65.97%) of the country's 1,972 state senate seats were up for re-election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country's 5,411 state house seats were up for re-election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats were up for re-election during the presidential election year.

• 43 of the50state senates held elections.
• 43 of the49state houses held elections.

The 6,015 seats up for election was 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in2010.

Redistricting

Because of the decennialredistricting process, the total number of seats can vary from a typical election year. For example, inAlaska, there are usually 10 seats up for election every two years. However, because of the newly drawn map, a total of 19 seats were on the ballot in November 2012.^[1] Elections immediately following redistricting historically demonstrate a higher number of open seats and a higher rate of new legislators than in typical election years.^[2]

According to Louis Jacobson ofGoverning Magazine, the percent of state legislative turnover from an election was between 14.4 percent and 21.5 percent from 1998 to 2008. However, during the year of redistricting in 2002, that figure jumped to 24 percent. In2010, the turnover rate was just below 24 percent, as the GOP boom created a higher than normal exodus of legislators. Because 2012 is another redistricting year, the rate of turnover was expected to once again be higher than usual.^[3]

Partisan control

Lou Cannon, of State Net'sCapitol Journal, highlighted several chambers that could see a change in partisan control after the 2012 elections. Chambers under Republican control prior to the 2012 election that Cannon found to be vulnerable to switch included theColorado House, the MaineHouse andSenate, theNew Hampshire House, theNew York Senate, and theWisconsin Senate. Cannon described Colorado as a state where Democrats had the best chances of flipping the legislature -- where President Obama did well in 2008, Democrats held the Senate by five votes, and Republicans held the House by just a one-vote margin.^[4]

Chambers that were expected to switch to Republican control include the ArkansasHouse andSenate, theNew Mexico House, theIowa Senate, and theNevada Senate. Arkansas, which voted in favor of the Republicans in the 2008 presidential election was expected to do so again in the fall. The state was the last of the 13 Confederate states in which the Democrats control any legislative chamber. Prior to the election, the democrats held the Senate by five votes and the House by an eight-vote margin.^[4][5]

Additionally, two chambers were tied in terms of partisan control: the Alaska Senate and the Oregon House.

Chamber breakdowns

Heading into the 2012 elections, the Republican Party held a commanding advantage in total number of state legislative chambers in which it is the majority party. Republicans controlled51 chambers with 2012 elections while Democrats controlled32.

Partisan Balance of Chambers with 2012 Elections
	Pre-election				Post-election
Legislative chamber
State senates	17	24	1	1	18	24	0	1
State houses	15	27	1	0	19	24	0	0
Totals:	32	51	2	1	37	48	0	1

Partisan Balance of All 99 Chambers Before and After 2012 Elections
	Pre-election				Post-election
Legislative chamber
State senates	19	28	2	1	20	28	1	1
State houses	17	31	1	0	21	28	0	0
Totals:	36	59	3	1	41	56	1	1

Partisan dominance

See also:Party dominance in state legislatures

To calculate a measure for theseats in state legislatures controlled by one party, the proportion of each chamber controlled by the Republican Party provides a metric forRepublican dominance (a high proportion),Democratic dominance (a low proportion), or no dominance by either party in the legislature (near 0.50). These two percentages (one for each chamber) are then added together to provide a measure of the degree to which Republicans control the state legislature (with 2 being complete control and 0 indicating control of no GOP seats). By subtracting 1 and taking the absolute value of the resulting number, the state is assigned a rating between 0 and 1 where a higher number indicates greater dominance by the majority party in the state legislature.

Partisan Dominance in State Legislatures Prior to the 2012 Elections State Party Party Dominance Rank Alabama 0.25 26 Alaska 0.08 43 Arizona 0.38 16 Arkansas 0.11 40 California 0.29 23 Colorado 0.06 46 Connecticut 0.27 24 Delaware 0.3 19 Florida 0.38 15 Georgia 0.26 22 Hawaii 0.8 1 Idaho 0.61 5 Illinois 0.14 38 Indiana 0.33 18 Iowa 0.07 44 Kansas 0.54 7 Kentucky 0.01 49 Louisiana 0.17 35 Maine 0.05 47 Maryland 0.44 12 Massachusetts 0.69 3 Michigan 0.26 25 Minnesota 0.1 42 Mississippi 0.12 41 Missouri 0.41 14 Montana 0.23 27 Nebraska NA NA Nevada 0.15 36 New Hampshire 0.52 8 New Jersey 0.2 30 New Mexico 0.2 28 New York 0.14 37 North Carolina 0.19 32 North Dakota 0.48 11 Ohio 0.29 21 Oklahoma 0.35 17 Oregon 0.03 48 Pennsylvania 0.14 39 Rhode Island 0.66 4 South Carolina 0.2 29 South Dakota 0.57 6 Tennessee 0.25 34 Texas 0.31 20 Utah 0.56 9 Vermont 0.42 13 Virginia 0.18 33 Washington 0.19 31 West Virginia 0.48 10 Wisconsin 0.06 45 Wyoming 0.7 2

Supermajorities

Beyond basic partisan control, parties looked to gain or end supermajorities in a number of chambers. In these chambers it was not a question of which party will hold power, but simply by how much. Supermajority generally means a party controls two-thirds of all seats. While it varies from state to state, being in this position gives a party much greater power. Josh Goodman ofStateline highlighted the following states:^[6]

• California: Democrats have been the majority party in California for over 40 years. Going into the election, they were two seats shy of a supermajority.
• Texas, Arizona, New Hampshire, Florida: In these states Republicans had a supermajority prior to the election, which Democrats were looking to cut into.
• Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee: In these states, Republicans already had a majority and looked to gain a supermajority.

Primaries

This map displays the month of each State legislative primary in 2012

See also:Signature requirements and deadlines for 2012 state legislative elections

The first state legislative primary in 2012 was inOhio on March 6. The dates of the primaries were as follows:

Days to campaign

See also:2012 Elections preview: Comparing state legislative filing deadlines

The number of days between the candidate filing deadline and primary election vary widely from state to state

This year 44 states heldstate legislative elections. While each state holds a primary, the amount of time between thesignature filing deadline and the primary differed widely from 60 days inNorth Dakota all the way to 158 days inConnecticut. What this essentially means is that candidates in Connecticut had 98 days more days to campaign than those in North Dakota.

Looking at it geographically, one can see a few clusters - western states with 80-89 days and midwestern states that have 90+ days - but for the most part the variation is spread throughout the country.

Filing deadlines and primary dates were in a state of flux in a number of states, primarily due to the once-a-decade redistricting process.

• Texas had an original filing deadline of December 12, but that was pushed back to December 15 and then to December 19 due toredistricting troubles in the courts.^[8] The primary was set to be the first in the nation on March 6, but that was delayed as well, to April 3. It was ruled that the filing process would re-open on February 1, but with maps still not agreed to, that was thrown out.^[9] The primary was then moved from April 3 to its final date of May 29.

• Idaho saw their newstate legislative districts rejected by theIdaho Supreme Court. Legislators considered moving the state's primary from May 15 to August 8. This would move the filing period from February 27-March 9 to May 21-June 1.^[10]

• In January theNew Hampshire State Senate voted to move the state primary from the second Tuesday in September to the last Tuesday in August. The filing deadline would be moved from the first Wednesday in June to the third Wednesday in May. The bill did not ultimately pass - if approved it would have been the first change to the primary date since 1944.^[11]

• Kentucky had an initial filing deadline of January 31, Franklin Circuit JudgePhillip Shepherd delayed the deadline for state legislative candidates until February 7 in order to consider a challenge to newly drawn districts.^[12]

• Lawmakers in theMissouri General Assembly attempted to push back the filing period for their August primary by one month. The move was intended to allow time for Missouri courts to settle issues with state house and senate, and congressional districts.^[13] The filing period inMissouri runs from February 28th until March 27th for all state and federal races.

• In January, federal judgeGary Sharpe movedNew York's congressional primary date from September 11 to June 26 in order to keep the state in line with federal election law. The change to congressional primary dates pressured a move forstate legislative primaries. However, the 2012 session of the Legislature did not end until June 21, allowing lawmakers little time to return home in order to campaign.^[14] New York state legislative primaries remained on September 13, 2012.

Impact of term limits

Main article:Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2012

Thirteen state senate chambers andthirteen state house chambers that held general elections onNovember 6, 2012 included some state legislators who were unable to run for re-election in 2012 because of theirstate's legislative term limits. A total of15 states have term limits for their legislators. However,Louisiana did not hold elections for its state senate or state house in 2012. Additionally,Michigan did not have a state senate election in 2012, and Nebraska does not have a lower house to hold an election for.

• 79 state senators were termed-out in 2012. This represents15.1% of the 523 total state senate seats up for election in November in the 13 term-limited state senates with elections in November 2012.
• 169 state representatives were termed-out. This represents13.38% of the 1,263 total seats up for election in the 13 term-limited states with elections in November 2012.

Altogether,248 current state legislators had to leave office after the November elections because of term limits. This was13.89% of the 1,786 state legislative seats up for election in the14 term-limited states with 2012 elections, and about 4% of the 6,015 state legislative seats that were up for election altogether in 2012, including the non-term-limited states.

State Senators

Main article:Impact of term limits on state senate elections in 2012

43 state senates held general elections in November 2012. In 13 of these states, state senators aresubject to term limits.Louisiana andMichigan are the only states with state senate term limits that did not have a general election for their state senates in 2012.

A total of 83current state senators were ineligible to run for re-election in November because ofterm limit laws in their state. This includes:

• 35 incumbent Democratic state senators
• 40 incumbent Republican state senators
• 8 nonpartisan state senators

In 5 states, the term limits axe fell more heavily on incumbent Republicans:Arizona,Florida,Missouri,Ohio andSouth Dakota. In 4 states, the term limits axe fell more heavily on incumbent Democrats:Arkansas,California,Colorado, andMontana. In 3 states, the axe fell equally on both parties (Maine,Oklahoma, andNevada) whileNebraska's senate is officially nonpartisan.

State Representatives

Main article:Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2012

43 state houses held general elections in November 2012. In 13 of these states, state house terms aresubject to term limits. 15 states havestate legislative term limits, but Louisiana did not hold a state house election in 2012 and Nebraska does not have a state house.

172 current state representatives were ineligible to run for re-election in November because of term limit laws in their state. This includes:

• 87 incumbent Democratic state representatives
• 85 incumbent Republican state representatives

In 7 states, the term limits axe fell more heavily on incumbent Republicans:Arizona,Florida,Missouri,Montana,Ohio,Oklahoma andSouth Dakota. In all of these states, the majority party was also the Republican Party.

In 6 states, the term limits axe fell more heavily on incumbent Democrats:Arkansas,California,Colorado,Maine,Michigan, andNevada. In 3 of these states, the majority party was also theDemocratic Party. These states include Arkansas, California and Nevada. In 3 of the 6 states where term limits affect incumbent Democrats more heavily, the majority party was Republican -- Colorado, Maine and Michigan.

Impact on Parties

Although the difference is marginal, theRepublican Party took more of a hit fromterm limits in the2012 state legislative elections than the Democratic Party, both in terms of how many individual incumbent legislators the Republican Party lost (120, versus 119 for the Democratic Party) and in terms of how many state legislative chambers lost more Republicans (12, versus 10 for the Democratic Party).

Chart indicating impact on individual legislators by party

Chart indicating impact on legislative chambers by party

Chart indicating change in party control of seats after 2010

After the 2010 election results were in, it was possible to see the effect that term limits had on party control of termed-out seats. While incumbents generally have an advantage in elections, elections for termed-out seats lack an incumbent running for re-election. In some cases, this preceded a change in party control of the termed-out seat.

Term-limited seats that changed party control in the 2010 elections
State	Senators Termed Out 2010	Representatives Termed Out 2010	Democratic Seats lost to other Parties - Senate	Republican Seats lost to other Parties - Senate	Democratic Seats lost to other Parties - House	Republican Seats lost to other Parties - House	Percent of Termed-Out Senate Seats that Changed Party	Percent of Termed-Out House Seats that Changed Party	Total Legislative Seats that Changed Party
Arizona	10	13	0	0	0	0	0%	0%	0
Arkansas	13	34	7	0	11	1	53.8%	35.3%	19
California	8	17	0	0	1	1	0%	11.1%	2
Colorado	3	8	0	0	1	0	0%	12.5%	1
Florida	7	23	0	0	0	0	0%	0%	0
Maine	4	20	1	0	5, 1	2	25%	40%	9
Michigan	29	37	3	0	6	1	10.3%	18.9%	10
Missouri	10	52	1	0	6	0	10%	11.5%	7
Montana	15	15	2	0	4	0	13.3%	26.7%	6
Nebraska	1	N/A[15]	0	0	-	-	0%	-	0
Nevada	4	10	0	0	0	0	0%	0%	0
Ohio	7	13	0	0	0	0	0%	0%	0
Oklahoma	6	4	4	0	0	0	66.7%	0%	4
South Dakota	4	8	1	0	1	1	25%	25%	3
Total:	121	254	19	0	34,2	6	15.7%	16.5%	61

Legend: =Seat picked up by Democrat • =Seat picked up by Republican • =Seat picked up by Third Party

Competitive races

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

Strategists for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee chose 50 districts for inclusion in their 2012 Essential Races list. Those districts were:^[16]

Alabama

Alabama did not hold anystate legislative elections in 2012.

Alaska

• Alaska State Senate elections, 2012
• Alaska House of Representatives elections, 2012

The State Senate was in the unique position of being equally split between Democrats and Republicans, with each party holding 10 seats. Republicans controlled the redistricting process, increasing the likelihood that they would gain control of the Upper Chamber in 2012.^[18]

Alaska's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Alaska legislators assume office on the third Tuesday of January following their election.^[19][20]

Arizona

• Arizona State Senate elections, 2012
• Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2012

Arizona's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Arizona legislators assume office on the first day of the session after they are elected. Each regular session begins on the second Monday in January.^[21] Members are limited to four terms, for a total of eight years.

Arkansas

• Arkansas State Senate elections, 2012
• Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2012

After a strong Republican showing in the2010 elections, Democrats controlled both chambers by slim margins heading into the 2012 election. "The elections that matter to the state Republican Party are the legislative elections of 2012, which are going to determine who controls both houses of the Legislature," said Jay Barth, a political science professor at Hendrix College.^[22]

The Arkansas legislature had been in Democratic control since the end of the Civil War and was the last Southern state to have a Democratic legislature. Small government group Americans for Prosperity heavily invested in races in the state in an effort to flip the chambers.^[23]

Arkansas's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Arkansas legislators assume office on the second Monday of January following their election.^[24] Members are limited to two terms, for a total of eight years.

California

• California State Senate elections, 2012
• California State Assembly elections, 2012

As a result of the newredistricting process, it had been estimated that up to 40 percent of the 120legislative seats could be won by new candidates in 2012.^[25]

California's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to serving no more than two four-year terms. California's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to serving no more than four two-year terms. California legislators assume office the first Monday in the December following their election.^[26]

Colorado

• Colorado State Senate elections, 2012
• Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2012

Colorado's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than two consecutive terms. Colorado's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. Colorado legislators assume office on the first day of the legislative session after their election. The legislative session must begin no later than 10:00 AM on the second Wednesday of January.^[27] The state constitution requires the newly elected governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state to take office on the second Tuesday of January.^[28] In the year after those offices are elected, the legislative session must begin before the second Tuesday of January to declare the winners of those races.^[29][30]

Connecticut

• Connecticut State Senate elections, 2012
• Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2012

Connecticut's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Connecticut's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Connecticut legislators assume office the Wednesday following the first Monday of January after their election.^[31]

Delaware

• Delaware State Senate elections, 2012
• Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2012

Delaware's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Delaware's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Delaware legislators assume office the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November (the day after election day).^[32][33]

Florida

• Florida State Senate elections, 2012
• Florida House of Representatives elections, 2012

Florida's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than two consecutive four-year terms. Florida's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. Florida legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.^[34]

Georgia

• Georgia State Senate elections, 2012
• Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2012

Georgia's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Georgia's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Georgia legislators assume office the second Monday in January.^[35]

Hawaii

• Hawaii State Senate elections, 2012
• Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2012

Hawaii's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Hawaii's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Hawaii legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.^[36]

Idaho

• Idaho State Senate elections, 2012
• Idaho House of Representatives elections, 2012

Idaho's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Idaho's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Idaho legislators assume office on the first day in December following the general election.^[37]

Illinois

• Illinois State Senate elections, 2012
• Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2012

All 59state Senate and 118state house seats were up for election.

Illinois' state senators are elected to two or four-year terms. Under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, senators are divided into three groups, each group having a two-year term at a different part of the decade between censuses, with the rest of the decade being taken up by two four-year terms. Illinois' state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Illinois legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January.^[38]

Indiana

• Indiana State Senate elections, 2012
• Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2012

Indiana's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Indiana's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Indiana legislators assume office the day after their general election.^[39]

Iowa

• Iowa State Senate elections, 2012
• Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2012

Iowa's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Iowa state senators assume office on the first day of January which is not a Sunday or legal holiday.^[40][41] Iowa's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Iowa state representatives always assume office the first day of January after their election.^[42]

Kansas

• Kansas State Senate elections, 2012
• Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Seven moderate Republican incumbents were defeated by more conservative rivals in an effort to oust members of the Senate who were hostile to parts of Gov.Sam Brownback's agenda. This fits in with a larger 2012 narrative nationwide in which moderates from both parties are struggling to keep their seats.^[43]

Kansas' state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Kansas legislators assume office the second Monday of January after their election.^[44]

Kentucky

• Kentucky State Senate elections, 2012
• Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2012

Kentucky's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Kentucky's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Kentucky legislators assume office the first day of January after their election.^[45]

Louisiana

Louisiana did not hold anystate legislative elections in 2012.

Maine

• Maine State Senate elections, 2012
• Maine House of Representatives elections, 2012

Maine's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. Maine's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. Maine legislators assume office the day before the first Wednesday of December following the general election.^[46][47]

Maryland

Maryland did not hold anystate legislative elections in 2012.

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2012
• Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2012

Massachusetts' state senators are elected to two-year terms. Massachusetts' state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Massachusetts legislators assume office the first Wednesday in January after the election.^[48]

Michigan

Michigan did not hold anystate senate elections in 2012.

• Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2012

Michigan's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Michigan's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Michigan legislators assume office at noon on the first day of January.^[49]

Minnesota

• Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012
• Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2012

Republicans won control of theSenate after the2010 election. The newredistricting maps could have given the advantage to the DFL (Democrats), according to a report in theMinnesota Post. A total of 16 incumbent senators were paired together and there will be eight open seats with no incumbent.^[50] DFL State Chair Ken Martin said that a party analysis of the new Senate districts indicates that the partisan lean of the 67 districts is 34-33 in favor of the DFL.^[50] However, an analysis byThe Pioneer Press indicated a partisan lean of 36-31 for Republicans.^[51]

Minnesota's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Minnesota's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Minnesota legislators assume office on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January after the election. When the first Monday in January falls on January 1, legislators assume office on the first Wednesday after the first Monday.^[52][53]

Mississippi

Mississippi did not hold anystate legislative elections in 2012.

Missouri

• Missouri State Senate elections, 2012
• Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2012

Missouri's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than two four-year terms. Missouri's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than four two-year terms. Missouri legislators assume office the first day of the legislative session, which is the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January at 12:00pm.^[54]

Montana

• Montana State Senate elections, 2012
• Montana House of Representatives elections, 2012

Montana's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Montana term limits state that officials may not seek re-election if they have held office for eight years in a 16-year period. Montana's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Montana term limits state that officials may not seek re-election if they have held office for eight years in a 16-year period. Montana legislators assume office the first Monday of January following the election. If January 1 is a Monday, legislators assume office on the first Wednesday.^[55]

Nebraska

• Nebraska State Senate elections, 2012

Nebraska's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than two four-year terms. Nebraska legislators assume office the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January.^[56]

Nevada

• Nevada State Senate elections, 2012
• Nevada State Assembly elections, 2012

Nevada's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Nevada's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Nevada legislators assume office on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November (the day after election day).^[57]

New Hampshire

• New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2012
• New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2012

New Hampshire's state senators are elected to two-year terms. New Hampshire's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. New Hampshire legislators assume office on the first Wednesday of December following the general election.^[58]

New Jersey

New Jersey did not hold anystate legislative elections in 2012.

New Mexico

• New Mexico State Senate elections, 2012
• New Mexico House of Representatives elections, 2012

New Mexico's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. New Mexico legislators assume office on the first day of January after a general election.^[59]

New York

• New York State Senate elections, 2012
• New York State Assembly elections, 2012

New York's state senators are elected to two-year terms. New York's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. New York legislators assume office the first day of January after a general election.^[60]

North Carolina

• North Carolina State Senate elections, 2012
• North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012

North Carolina's state senators are elected to two-year terms. North Carolina's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. North Carolina legislators assume office on January 1 the year after their election.^[61]

North Dakota

• North Dakota State Senate elections, 2012
• North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2012

North Dakota's state senators are elected to four-year terms. North Dakota's state representatives are elected to four-year terms. North Dakota legislators assume office December 1st.^[62]

Ohio

• Ohio State Senate elections, 2012
• Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2012

Ohio's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than two consecutive terms. Ohio's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. Ohio legislators assume office the first day of January after a general election.^[63][64]

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma State Senate elections, 2012
• Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2012

Oklahoma's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than a combined total of twelve years in the senate and house of representatives. Oklahoma's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than a combined total of twelve years in the senate and house of representatives. Oklahoma legislators assume office 15 days following the general election.^[65][66]

Oregon

• Oregon State Senate elections, 2012
• Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2012

Oregon's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Oregon's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Oregon legislators assume office the second Monday in January following the election.^[67]

Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2012
• Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2012

Pennsylvania's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Pennsylvania's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Pennsylvania legislators assume office on the first day of December after a general election.^[68]

Rhode Island

• Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2012
• Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2012

Rhode Island's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Rhode Island's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Rhode Island legislators assume office the first Tuesday in January.^[69]

South Carolina

• South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012
• South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012

South Carolina's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. South Carolina legislators assume office the Monday after the election.^[70]

South Dakota

• South Dakota State Senate elections, 2012
• South Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2012

South Dakota's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Senators are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. South Dakota's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Representatives are limited to no more than four consecutive terms. South Dakota legislators assume office the second Tuesday in January after the general election.^[71]

Tennessee

• Tennessee State Senate elections, 2012
• Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2012

Tennessee's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Tennessee's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Tennessee legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.^[72]

Texas

• Texas State Senate elections, 2012
• Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Texas's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Texas's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session, which starts at noon on the second Tuesday in January in the year after the election.^[73][74]

Utah

• Utah State Senate elections, 2012
• Utah House of Representatives elections, 2012

Utah's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Utah's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Utah legislators assume office the first day in January.^[75][76]

Vermont

• Vermont State Senate elections, 2012
• Vermont House of Representatives elections, 2012

Vermont's state senators are elected to two-year terms. Vermont's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Vermont legislators assume office the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January after the election.^[77]

Virginia

Virginia did not hold anystate legislative elections in 2012.

Washington

• Washington State Senate elections, 2012
• Washington House of Representatives elections, 2012

Washington's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Washington's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Washington legislators assume office the second Monday of January.^[78]

West Virginia

• West Virginia State Senate elections, 2012
• West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2012

West Virginia's state senators are elected to four-year terms. West Virginia's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. West Virginia legislators assume office on the first day of December following their election.^[79]

Wisconsin

• Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2012
• Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2012

Going into the elections Democrats controlled the Senate by a margin of 17-16. They took power in the chamber following the successfulrecall of Van Wanggaard in early June.

Wisconsin's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Wisconsin's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Wisconsin legislators assume office the first Monday in January following the election, unless the first Monday of January falls on January 1 or 2. In those cases, legislators assume office on January 3.^[80]

Wyoming

• Wyoming State Senate elections, 2012
• Wyoming House of Representatives elections, 2012

Wyoming's state senators are elected to four-year terms. Wyoming's state representatives are elected to two-year terms. Wyoming legislators assume office the first Monday in January in odd-numbered years.^[81]

External links

• Ballotpedia excel spreadsheet of State Legislative candidates in the 2012 election

Footnotes